Thinking Of Buying One

[Nikitta]

I was actually looking for something to read ebooks on, which wouldn't hurt my eyes with tiny letters on a tiny display, while still being portable. I have also been thinking of maybe getting a handheld game console, though I'm by no means a hardcore gamer.

Someone recommended the GP2X to me and the more I read about it, the more I think I want one. It seems very nice.

I just wonder

1) How does text look in the ebook reader?

2) From what I read you need some experience to use it, but how much is "some" in this case?
Is it enough to know basically how to connect a device to a computer and transfer what you want to it, or do you need to have programming and/or gaming as a hobby?

Don't get me wrong: I expect to spend some time learning to use it, as with any other new toy and I'm not completely hopeless at that, or with computers. I'm just no expert and I want to make sure that I don't end up buying something which I can't figure out how to use.

So: How much experience do you need to be able to use a GP2X?

 

[gaterooze]

Sounds like you'll be fine with it. For most things it's as simple as sliding an SD card into a card reader and copying over the files.

If you choose to, there are more complex activities you can get up to with it, and a couple of the emulators are tricky to set up, but everything is explained pretty well and you just need some patience and willingness to read a readme.txt file. This community is always here to help, too.

As for eBooks, I don't use it much for that but I've heard excellent reports of it. There are also third party text readers made (aside from the built-in one) which allow more flexibility with fonts, wordwrapping, and MP3 playing in the background.

 

[craigix]

These days you don't need very much, if you can connect a USB cable and know how to copy files across when the GP2X appears in 'My Computer' then you can use the GP2x.

 

[macgyver61]

I don't often use the ebook reader so I can't comment on how it shapes up in comparison to other readers, but regarding the technical experience level required for the GP2X -

Obviously depends on what you're going to do with it but to give you some ideas -

e-book reader - so long as your file is in the right format (.txt) you require little more than the ability to copy the file to an SD card

music player/photo viewer - same level as the e-book reader

movie player - if you have video files in a suitable format then it's as easy as above, but the number of supported formats is limited so you potentially need some knowledge of video encoding tools - it plays divx as easily as MP3s though

homebrew games - in almost every case you just need to copy the files across to your SD card. Some may require a little extra but the most complexity I've encountered so far is having to place a file in a certain directory

emulators - quite variable. Plenty of the most mature emulators are very easy to use - with nice easy-to-use menu systems. If you can copy ROMs to the place the readme (a kind of introduction file that comes with most programs) tells you then that's usually enough. Occasionally, scripting is required which brings you a step closer to needing technical knowledge but I've used plenty of emulators and have yet to write a script. As you could guess, the longer an emulator has been in development, the more likely you are to find a friendly user interface.

Generally speaking, I think the difficulty of the GP2X has been exaggerated by some. It's certainly more complex than putting a cartridge in a slot. But really, most of the time, if you're capable of copying files to and from folders, then you'll find it reasonably painless. Because of its open nature, if you have technical skills, you'll find ways to use them. But you don't NEED technical skills. You can use a GP2X without ever having heard of linux or written a program in your life.

 

[Nikitta]

Thanks for all the replies. That sounds very reassuring. I've made up my mind now: I will order it!

 

[saehn]

Thanks for all the replies. That sounds very reassuring. I've made up my mind now: I will order it!

I recommend this reader over the built-in text reader:

http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi?0,0,0,0,8,1743

In my opinion, this is the best of the third-party readers to which gaterooze was referring.

 

[stormyandcold]

hey smee, u from half life world?

 

[purple_goat]

not to be a hater but wouldn't somthing thats made for ebooks be better
e.g.:click here :unsure:

 

[Epicenter]

If you don't want to have to screw around with it, something else might be a good idea, since most of the games/emulators for the GP2X require a good bit of experimentation to get running properly. The eBook program is easy to use but it's not really very versatile, and last time I used it, it didn't even have correct word wrapping, so a word would start on one line and end on another. It's also not very comfortable to hold for reading for an extended period of time, and controlling it with one hand isn't very natural at all.

I'd recommend a cheap PDA just for eBooks. I've found the DS Lite is really nice for them, since you can flip the machine like a small book and use both displays. My setup is a DS lite and an M3 adapter with a 1gb MicroSD card, which altogether came to around $200-- but there are much cheaper adapters with built-in memory that'd take the total price down to somewhere around $150-$170 which offer pretty much plug-and-play eBook and Music playback, and also simple-to-convert Video playback (eBooks/music require no conversion). Then you also have a very easy-to-use game console with plenty of GBA and NDS software available. (I'm not suggesting you pirate GBA/NDS games, I'm suggesting you buy the cartridges. But in theory you could... ) I'd stick with official software since emulators take a good bit of experimentation to get running on the DS as well.

 

[Wonslung]

Thanks for all the replies. That sounds very reassuring. I've made up my mind now: I will order it!

i have to say you will be happy that you did, i can't express in words the joy this little piece of plastic and silicon has brought into my life. And the people involved in this community are just as amazing at the device. I was leaning towards buying a psp when i stumbled across this web page but after playing a psp that my brother owns for a day or so and reading all the horror stories of bricked units i decided to gop with the Gp2x and every day brings new joys. seriously, i recieved the unit maybe 2 weeks ago and there hasn't been a day passed that i haven't found my new favorite thing to do on this thing

i think i see a glimpse of the future...i can't wait to see what develops in the months to come.

 

[moxie]

I must have magical fingers, then - So far, I've done nothing more complicated with any emulator than "copy stuff to SD; Run emu from main menu", or possibly selected "settings" from the main emu menu. Then again, I haven't dug into MAME or Neogeo...

But for e-books, I'd use something else.

 

[fargo]

Yah, for e-books, go get yourself a Sony e-reader. The one uses eink technology. It is simply the best and would be easy on your eyes.

 

[Malashi]

I thought I should post here rather than make a new topic.
I also am considering the purchase of the GP2X, and although I seem to read of how great it is, and how
many emulators and games you can get for it, I cant seem to find any of them online, and no specific sites,
granted the File Archive on the offical site has some, but not what I would call alot.

So can anyone direct me to any great sites, specificaly for Emulators, Roms and maybe even Ports - such
as Doom, Duke Nukem etc...

Any help would be great, as I really dont want to buy one until I know what I can get for it.


Also does the device actualy come with an SD card or do I have to buy one seperatly?

 

[Mudi]

Buy an SD card separately, and http://archive.gp2x.de has a ton of ports, emulators, and homebrew. Have fun...

 

[gaterooze]

Yep, the (non-official) Archive hosted by Evil Dragon is excellent (almost 1,000 programs now) -- however, for ROMs (which are generally illegal), you will have to search elsewhere (ie Google). But don't worry, you can use ROMs that work on PC emulators, they are all the same.